Dirk Nowitzki’s new deal with Mavericks will be done after Carmelo Anthony pursuit

The Dallas Mavericks won't ink a new deal with forward Dirk Nowitzki until they first meet with free agent Carmelo Anthony on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

It's not that Nowitzki and the Mavs have reached an impasse in their talks. Rather, Dallas and its own free agent have held off on formalizing a new contract to keep flexibility open. Nowitzki will be heavily involved in recruiting and meeting with Anthony, who also will visit Chicago, Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers before closing his free agency tour with the Knicks.

Nowitzki and the Mavericks went through discussions about their future together leading into the July free agency period. All along, the 36-year-old and longtime Mav has maintained he would be willing to take a pay cut in order to help Dallas make another deep postseason run. While the two sides could have reached an extension, Stein reports that Nowitzki and Dallas are entering free agency with a solid framework of a potential deal already agreed upon. With upwards of $26 million in cap space available, Dallas can sign Anthony outright before re-signing Nowitzki.

Dallas made a solid move in the direction of recruiting Anthony already, trading with the Knicks to acquire Anthony's teammate Tyson Chandler, who won a championship with the Mavs.